Nelumbo Circadian Light

CLIENT:                     Unitec

PROJECT DATE:       2009

The Nelumbo light was the final project from the second year of my undergraduate degree.

The Nelumbo light responds to the Circadian rhythm of the Earth and is primarily designed for city children’s bedrooms as an aid to get to sleep; a biological reminder of nature’s patterns.  The light is activated by GPS and maps itself to the daylight of that locale.  While a time for the light is chosen to close every day, Nelumbo mimics the light as both seasonally, and within the day – as it closes it mimics the colors of the sunset.

Additionally, Nelumbo has two layers of petals that open and close as the light turns on and off.  This took a great deal of time and effort to prototype in order to make the really make light work.  The petals are made from Washi paper from Japan which allows the delicate colors to slowly emerge and color the room in the morning, which the opposite occurring in the evening.

The center of the lightshade is very thin slipcast porcelain, and  a small motor powers the petals which are situated in two layers with different fulcrum points, so as to mimic a lotus flower opening.  However I investigated many different mechanisms in order to make this light work properly.

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